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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28007238">Terry.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Polygon/McElroy Vlogs &amp; Podcasts RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crack Treated Seriously, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Loss of a pet, Multiple Endings, according to my notes: i wrote this on april 8th 2019, both are soft but one is sad, ish, mentions of Twitter, pokemon universe?? an unexpected crossover, uhhhh this is about the old Unraveled Pokerap video lmao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:55:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,826</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28007238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Brian barely goes public with what he did to Terry. He's not sure if joking about it helped him move on, but his chest feels lighter. </p>
<p>And then Twitter does what Twitter does best: get weirdly invested.</p>
<p>(polygon but pokemon are real, and that asshole child still wanted Terry.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brian David Gilbert &amp; Terry the Tangela</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Terry.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>according to my early 2019 google docs: my only research was googling “tangela lifespan”, and folks? It was useless.</p>
<p>this ain’t real bdg, it’s not meant to represent real bdg, or match how real bdg would react in this very fake, very stupid scenario. This is only representative of a very specific portrayal of bdg in a small canon of publically available media, and is meant to play on that for fun.<br/>Apparently, 2019-me thought fun meant soft angst?? I don't know why. 2020 me thinks it was cute tho, so ... here?</p>
<p>Everything from this point on, including end notes, was written April 7 + 8, 2019.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Brian was reasonably certain he was dreaming. There was no other explanation for how surreal the internet was being. It started with a strange email, two days after the filming of the Pokerap Unraveled.</p>
<p>Well. Maybe it started when they filmed the Pokerap. </p>
<p>Or when he pitched the script to Pat, who’d asked him quietly if he was sure, then agreed to do whatever was needed.</p>
<p>Hell, maybe it started when he explained to Pat months before, waiting in between filming two stunts for a stream, why he loved grass types so much. Or an hour later, when Brian finally admitted the awful thing he’d done to another person for the first time in a decade. </p>
<p>When nobody in Polygon immediately turned on him for being a pokemon-abusing asshole after he tested out the Pokerap presentation, it was a lot easier to repeat himself in front of all their fans. After all: everyone had made mistakes raising Pokemon. Hell, plenty of people even made bad trades, especially as kids. It didn’t really make the guilt go away, but not hiding the whole ordeal like he was ashamed (he was) helped. </p>
<p>He was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was the only reason he was still awake; he couldn’t help but keep an eye on his social media accounts, waiting for someone to post some tell-all call out about what a garbage person he was, and how Terry deserved better. He hoped it would stay quiet until the video released, so everyone could form their own opinions, but he expected the worst. </p>
<p>Instead, there was a small, intense little group of Twitter users trying to find Terry without giving away the Unraveled episode. It was maybe a bit misguided, but vaguely sweet. He certainly didn’t have the heart to tell them to stop, because he’d have to explain why he didn’t want to know what had happened to Terry.</p>
<p>The email was less misguided, but also less vaguely sweet. It was a group of fans, asking if they could look for Terry on his behalf. He sent back a quick “No.” Terry had either belonged to another trainer for longer than he’d ever been Brian’s, or he was gone. Brian had made his awful, awful choice, and there was no reason to go drudging up a disappointing past. </p>
<p>Once the video came out, though? There wasn’t much he could do to stop everyone. He made his stance pretty clear on Twitter, but every post seemed to have the opposite effect. </p>
<p>Sure, everyone he directly asked apologized and shut down their part of the operation, but plenty of them either didn’t see his blanket requests or didn’t care. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>By 2 days after Unraveled: Pokerap went out, his siblings had joined in. Up until then, no one could provide pictures or features for Terry, making him an impossible find. Twitter latched their claws onto the photos provided and refused to let go. </p>
<p>He wouldn’t get his hopes up. He couldn’t. By the time he was in his teens, Brian had figured out that Kevin wasn’t the type to use a Tangela in battle, even as wonderful as Terry was. He knew the outcomes for abandoned pokemon, and he just wanted to believe that Terry was enjoying life as a member of a team. No matter what reality was, Terry either was happy with someone else, or was sad in a way that Brian couldn’t help. </p>
<p>And no matter what, he was almost definitely Kevin’s, or far past a paper trail that Brian would be able to track. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Laura somehow had a picture of him and Terry that Brian hadn’t seen before, or hadn’t for long enough that he’d forgotten. It stung, but he was still glad to have it. The image was a bit blurry around the edges, but there little five-year-old Brian sat, hugging baby Terry. He was a lot smaller than Brian remembered. Admittedly, he had gotten bigger with Brian, he’d been almost three feet when Brian traded him away like a monster. </p>
<p>He deletes his Twitter app. He’ll pick it up after this is over, but it’s a lot for him right now. It’s not hard to explain to Pat or Tara why he’s taking a little social media break. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>3 days after the Unraveled Episode drops, he sees himself on television. The image of him and Terry is accompanied by a pleading headline to reunite them. He’s become a feel-good local news story that everyone can work together on. Wonderful. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>4 days after Unraveled, after he’s turned down an interview, he gets a call from Pat. </p>
<p>“You might want to check Twitter.”</p>
<p>“I’m pretty sure I don’t.”</p>
<p>“Brian, c’mon. Even if it isn’t him, you won’t know unless you check.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Tangela in the image looks a lot like Terry. He’s the right shade of blue, the right knot pattern, and about the same size. He looks tired. </p>
<p>Brian can relate. </p>
<p>A young woman working at a Pokemon shelter had seen the (somehow trending?) topic of Terry on Twitter and recognized him. Most of the Pokemon were up for adoption, but this Tangela had never been adopted. He was too aggressive, then too shy, then very quickly just too old, at least for families and kids looking for a very young pokemon. She’d promised to hold the Tangela that might be Terry until Brian saw her post and responded one way or the other. </p>
<p>Brian checks the location tag, his bank balance, and packs a bag, but his brain doesn’t catch up until he’s trying to buy an overnight ticket to Baltimore on a plane that leaves in two hours. </p>
<p>It’s not Terry. It can’t be Terry, it’s been too long, and he’s been all alone in a shelter and who knows how he got there, and Brian might’ve found him if he’d just looked. And he still might not be Terry. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Brian has been operating half-underwater for the last week. He’ll get through an hour only to realize it’s been five minutes, and vice versa. The submerged feeling continues, and he walks, still cloudy, to the place he might see Terry again, and he’s not sure if it’s been an hour since Pat called, or 12. He’s looking forward to this all blowing over if only so he can use Twitter to keep time again.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The woman from the original post isn’t there, and they’re surprised to see him, because Brian didn’t have the foresight to do the very obvious thing and call ahead. Instead, a man leads him into the enclosure for grass types and leads a skittish Tangela towards him. He looks hopefully down at the Tangela, then back at Brian, and steps away. </p>
<p>This is not Terry. It was the right size and pattern, but the color was all wrong. More blue-green than steel blue. The color balance on the photo must’ve been off. He’s not sure how the picture missed the big scratch marks on one side like it’d been attacked by a very angry Meowth.</p>
<p>He holds his hand out anyway, palm down and fingers loosely curled, just like he’d learned when he first found Terry. The Tangela curls a tendril towards, then around his hand, and just holds it there for a moment. </p>
<p>“Is that him?”</p>
<p>His voice is hushed, but the Tangela pulls back startled all the same. </p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>The man sighs and apologizes. <br/>He leaves his hand held out, and the Tangela tentatively shuffles back towards him after a few silent moments. </p>
<p>He’d sort of forgotten how peaceful pokemon could be. Like they just understood, and as long as you cared, so did they. </p>
<p>The Tangela takes another step towards him, and Brian can’t help but smile. Brian is pretty sure this Tangela is going to need a name. Richard sounds nice. Maybe William?</p>
<p>“Is this little guy up for adoption?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--- 1</p>
<p>Brian ends up calling him Steven. He fits into New York surprisingly well. Brian never realized he’d be so glad the biggest window in his apartment faces south, or that New York has tons of specialized veterinarians so he doesn’t have to worry about Steven’s care. </p>
<p>It’s strange. He’d forgotten how Terry was the perfect size for hugs, but he can’t help but remember now when Steven plomps his entire body onto his chest when he lays down on the couch. He’d forgotten how Terry used to pull him towards the humidifier whenever it turned off. Steven is very polite when it comes to humidity in the air, but he also tries to dunk his tendrils in the dishwater once a week. </p>
<p>Steven fits almost seamlessly into Brian’s life. Not into the hole Brian tore himself by trading Terry away, either. Just sort of alongside it, not repairing it, or making it worse. </p>
<p>Steven is just there, and Brian can return that favor.</p>
<p>--- 2<br/>He’s only halfway through the papers when the woman from the original Twitter post comes in. She takes one look at him and his new boy Steven before facepalming. </p>
<p>“John. Did you grab the Tangela from Crate 1, or 2?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Brian has never been a huge fan of pokeballs. When he was younger, he just let Terry follow him. Same with the couple pokemon he trained later, they just waited at home when he went to school. Once he went to college, he gave his last pokemon to a friend who would have room to look after her. He never really got back onboard the Pokemon-Trainer-train after that. </p>
<p>That being said, he was immensely glad that not only were pokeballs a thing, but they were also so common that the airport sold them in their luggage store. They were a bit pricier than he remembered, but he had to get back home to try and settle Terry and Steven before he went back to work the next day. He didn’t really want to shop around. </p>
<p>At least the two Tangelas got along. </p>
<p>Terry was much less skittish than Steven. He wouldn’t let go of Brian’s leg for a good half hour, which broke his heart. He barely held out for a second before he lowered himself to the ground and just hugged him, apologizing and crying all the while, surrounded by the strangers who'd taken care of his boy for years. </p>
<p>Eventually, they got up. The shelter staff didn’t seem to mind. He hadn’t planned on going home with one Tangela, let alone two. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to care for Tangela, or like his small apartment would be a problem. He had a south-facing window and everything. He could pick up everything else when he got home. <br/>He just hoped he’d do a better job.</p>
<p>Maybe the internet didn’t think he was a garbage stink person, but Terry definitely deserved better. Steven deserved plenty too, by the looks of him. Brian was gonna do right by them this time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The ethics of Pokemon has always confused me, but never more so than in the fringe case of an eight-year-old trading their favorite pokemon to another, eviler eight-year-old. Like? Is trading your favorite pokemon like trading your dog? Even though Pokemon are meant to trade? Especially in a world where an 8yo can complete their regional pokedex, trainers almost certainly don’t have all the pokemon at the end, right? </p>
<p>So an owner who loved their fav pokemon would definitely feel bad, but how bad would society see it? I have so many questions about Pokemon society. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>also I was gonna be a responsible author and decide whether Brian got a new Tangela (and learned to move forward) or Terry (and got that bff poke-fluff)? But you know what? Fuck it. I’m gonna leave the bait-and-switch because otherwise the conclusion is foregone, but I’m also gonna reunite Brian and Terry, because what’s the point of writing crack fic if you can’t even reunite the boys you love?</p>
<p>Learned that from Unraveled.</p>
<p>(2020 me again: i don't go here anymore, but i love that polygon and the mcelroys are tied together forever in ao3.)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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